99 flyer design ideas that will give you wings

While it may be tempting to hop onto the latest marketing trend and use whatever social app is making the headlines right now, sometimes tried-and-tested tools are the most effective—like flyers. The shiny leaflets handed out on the street—that often end up in the next trash can—still have a place in today’s marketing campaigns.

Flyers are tangible, cost effective and incredibly versatile. When done right, they can reach the right audience with the right message at the right time—which, after all, is what marketing is all about.

Here are 99 flyer design ideas that will inspire you, and 23 flyer design tips to create a flyer with genuine impact.

1. Go big with color
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Attract people’s attention with vibrant colors and lively designs. Go for a bold red background or use contrast to your advantage with a neon accent on a dark base. You can also use colors to reinforce your message, like greens and yellows for a health brand or primary colors for kids.

3. Keep it simple
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You don’t need to go overboard and stuff the flyer full of every ounce of information you have available. Decide on one key message and then focus on that. Minimalist designs with a lot of space can really help to focus attention on what matters.

5. Fly into the holiday spirit
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Ho, ho, ho! Tapping into seasonality and current events will ensure that your message is relevant and timely. It can be a promotion or a special event or just a design element that ties into the symbols associated with the fall or the December holiday season or whatever else is going on that’s relevant to your brand and products.

6. Do flyer design differently
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Include patterns, put a frame around the content or use graphics and type in an unexpected way. A clever bit of design or an element of surprise will help to draw the customer in to see what you have to say.

9. Get cute and cuddly
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Babies and animals are always reliable methods of upping the cute factor! Don’t be afraid to pull at those heartstrings—even if they’re not directly relevant to the business, cute images can help to grab attention and give people all the feels.

12. Rethink size
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Beyond the content and design of what’s on the flyer, consider the flyer itself. Most flyers tend to come in a pretty standard size, so consider what you can do to make yours different. Try going smaller to make it easier to handle or go big for an impressive high-end product.

13. Be a shape shifter
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Think outside the flyer box and get creative with its shape, maybe even turning it into something that can be repurposed. If you can get people using the flyer instead of throwing it away, you’ve succeeded! Consider creating a flyer that’s a door hanger or a postcard, or perhaps an interactive design that inspires the customer to fold it or play around with it in some capacity.

15. Make a statement
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If your brand allows it, dare to take some risks and be provocative. Make a bold claim, be overdramatic, use humor if you have it and maybe even lean on some swear words if appropriate (or if inappropriate and you really want to make a statement, dammit!).

18. Show them what you can do
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You may want to show your full range of products or services to demonstrate the many different options available. Presenting the various styles and designs that you offer and the many ways they can be used things will help you capture as many customers as possible.

19. State a clear benefit
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Answer the big question: what’s in it for me? right away by alerting customers to what you can do for them. Your business likely addresses a need or problem, so make the benefit explicit and use imagery to reinforce the message.

22. Get social
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Pull more people into your circle by encouraging them to follow you on your social channels and, even better, to tag you as they share their pictures online. You can also use your flyer to ask people who have already bought from you to review your product online—why not use existing reviews and testimonials to provide social proof?

23. Inspire customers to take action
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You don’t want to spend your money on a flyer that people will take one look at and then forget. What’s the specific action you want them to take? Do you want them to go to your store, download an app or attend an event? Make this clear! People shouldn’t have to guess.

The author

Anna is a success coach and business strategist who helps people create businesses and build a lifestyle that allows them an unimagined sense of freedom, flexibility and fulfilment across different areas of their lives. Follow her on Twitter @annaselundberg